A fleet is gathering on Tombstone Island. When the people and businessmen on the island learned who the fleet was going to attack, they all took a breath.
After the initial shock gradually dissipated, some people couldn't help but ask questions deep in their souls - how much benefit can they get if they win?
The benefits are absolutely indispensable! Because the prince had given the order, the brothers rented a warship belonging to the prince to carry out the robbery, and the stolen property was divided 50-50 with the prince. As long as they grab enough this time, the brothers can make a fortune in one battle.
A group of wolves, tigers and leopards were ordered to use all their initiative to rob, and even did any cruel thing but were supported by the prince.
Let's talk about the hundred-man team led by Arik. This team was divided into four "fleets" of platoon-level combat teams, but the number did not strictly reach the stipulated thirty people per team.
He first recruited a small group of Balmoks on the spot in New Roseburg.
Recruiting people is not a random recruitment, because the fifth banner team of Balmok Hellafed, which is composed purely of his tribe, has capable men who have all become businessmen because they have not received the order from the prince to assemble an army for crusade. old business. They were a group of guys who boarded the merchant ships that traveled between their hometown of Roseburg and their new homes in the East. They transported the best salt from the Atlantic coast to New Roseburg and sold it. They then replaced it with cloth, ironware, and even grain and shipped it back to their hometown.
The Balmok flag team was reduced to pieces. A group of businessmen were delighted to hear the news of the war, and their plans to purchase supplies and return home were put aside. They all threw themselves into their ranks without asking who the heroic Arik wanted to kill.
The powerful Arik accepted it so decisively that the number of the centurion instantly swelled to one hundred and fifty.
A group of people boarded a small fleet led by the Salmon Chief at Fort New Ross, brought the purchased food, fresh water and weapons, and arrived at the current economic center of the Finns as quickly as possible, the coastal trading port of Helminki. , which is also the actual residence of Count Gevlo.
It used to be just a deserted beach on the coast. The Suomi tribesmen did not dare to set up an obvious fishing village here for fear of being caught by the passing Varyag people.
Nowadays, a fishing port is rising from the ground. She is named after "jewel" in ancient Finnish and assumes the task of being a transfer station for the material transportation routes of the Principality of Rus.
Because Gogland Island in the Gulf of Finland has granite and limestone that is extremely scarce in the area, and there is fresh water on the island, it is the only source of stone for nearby settlements. Not only the Russians living in New Roseburg came to quarry stone, but also the Finns themselves came to transport the stone.
Since Javlo got married and established a family, he became a nobleman of the Suomi people and became a count of Finland. Building his hometown has become an unshirkable responsibility. He once personally led his tribe to land on Gogland Island. While looking for suitable stones, he was also actively looking for those "ash trees".
The ash trees he had obtained turned into thirty long bows, which were divine bows that could shoot light arrows about two hundred steps away.
A major investigation yielded a major harvest. He plundered all the ash trees on the island and eventually turned them into 60 hard and very elastic wooden poles. He didn't really catch all the fish. A batch of saplings that were obviously gray trees were dug up directly along with the "mother soil" of the tree roots and transported directly to Helminki by ship for planting. They will form a forest of their own in the foreseeable future. , the Finns have continuously mastered the best materials they can get for making bows.
"You want to fight the Franks? I thought you were so aggressive that you were going to fight the Danes. Since all this is the prince's order, I will naturally join in. My only request is that when we get the treasure, we must send troops according to the instructions. Give me the number of people in proportion." Yevluo's attitude towards sending troops was very decisive.
His cheerfulness was also very popular with Arik, who only had one word of warning: "I hope you can send out the best warriors."
Yevluo will naturally bring out the best subordinates, but considering his own situation, it is really difficult to bring out a strong melee force. He selected the fifty tallest and strongest-armed men from his Suomi tribe and organized a team of foot archers.
While the fleet was resting in the port, Jevlo completed the troop deployment task. Arik and explorer Spyut reviewed these black-haired "dwarves".
All the top-notch Finnish archers imitated the Russians in their clothing, especially their white robes sewn with blue cloth strips, and their waists were tied with blue cloth belts. On their waists were iron hand axes for self-defense and weapons that looked like daggers but actually hand spears. They also had backpacks with drawstring hessian bags characteristic of the Russian army. The leather quiver hung at the waist is its most distinctive feature, filled with white-feathered arrows.
If there is the most amazing weapon, it is the main battle weapon they have on hand - the longbow.
It is said that after a winter of drying in the shade, the newly made longbow has the ability to shoot light arrows to a distance of 190 cloths. The range is indeed twice that of ordinary short wooden bows.
They make excellent fire support, don't they? It's perfect for assisting sieges.
After this glance, the strength of the army was close to two hundred and fifty.
They rested for the last time at the gathering place on Tombstone Island. Arik took the army mobilization order written by the prince himself and obtained all the ships listed on the list from the local governor.
Ten ships of various sizes were assembled at the port, and Arik set out to recruit capable sailors.
When this is implemented, it will be as easy as taking off your pants to pee.
Because Blue Fox Gouldson joined the team as a warrior, he was indeed a guide, and he was even more responsible for handling the steel-armed crossbow to kill the enemy.
How could a fierce thin man appear in a family that has been obese for decades? Considering that this crusade against Frank was both to vent his anger and to be a simple robbery, how could the Gould family not get involved in such an opportunity to make a fortune?
Even though the blue fox is a warrior, he is still alone! No, as an old father, Gould himself took out ten mercenaries from the family, both as sailors and as Blue Fox's guards. If a battle breaks out, these ten people can also take up arms and join the battle.
Gould Sr. did not hesitate to take charge of the supply of most of the sailors, even though doing so might affect the family's business activities.
He is not a philanthropist. When he realized the benefits, he made this risky investment.
Because Arik is such a cheerful man, as the commander of the operation, he boldly made an extremely simple and straightforward decision on the arrangement of dividing the loot during the robbery.
In principle, the brothers and the prince must be divided 50-50, and the remaining half of the property should be divided strictly according to the proportion of each force's income. Among them, the status of sailors is quite special. In principle, they do not participate in any fierce battles and most likely do not need to worry about their lives. The amount of wealth made is directly related to the risk of the adventure, but even so, each sailor can get a certain proportion of the loot.
This was a sure-profit deal, and the aging Gould wished he could personally participate in it to witness the army's plunder of Frank. In his memory, the Ross fleet always returned with a full load, and he firmly believed in the benefits of this venture.
The crusade fleet was fully prepared, and ten ships left Tombstone Island in a mighty manner, heading south against the warmest south wind in the summer of July.
To the people of Saaremaa, the fleet that suddenly appeared near the shore was like a magical weapon from Asgard. A group of people got off the boat. They were wearing uniform white coats. Several flag bearers were holding flagpoles. The flag of the Principality of Ross was flapping in the south wind.
Count Spuyut and the army of the Principality of Rus arrive at the loyal island of Saaremaa!
From the perspective of the Ross army, this island, which was once considered a desert island and rarely settled, is now flying the Ross flag, and a walled village has begun to take shape.
"Is this the pirate island you were ordered to govern? Brother, I think this place can be developed further. In the future, when we go to the west to rob, your island is the most convenient starting point." Arik's statement was very pertinent, and it hit Sipu directly. Ute's heart.
"Brother Arik, I will not let you down. You should also know something. These islanders are exiles from various tribes. You must not doubt their ability to kill people. Both of them are very vicious."
"Then arm them quickly and let's move quickly." Arik finally urged.
When they first heard that the army was going to rob Frank, the islanders had no idea. Because they don't know what Frank means and seems to be a weak and subordinate object? There is no reason not to grab it.
According to the prince's order, the total strength of the combatants and sailors of the punitive force should not exceed 500.
Then select people according to the upper limit of five hundred people, just to round up the whole number so that it can be easily calculated when dividing the spoils in the future.
This was actually a small trouble for Spyut. He recruited all the strongest men among the islanders. Since he could not gather enough people, the half-grown boys and the old men with gray beards were all pulled on board. Different from the uniform uniforms of the Russian army, the Saaremaa islanders soldiers still wear a messy outfit, which is in line with their pirate image.
On the contrary, the Russian army was dressed too formally and uniformly, and it was clearly a robbery mission, making it look like a grand battle between countries.
After all, this was an expedition. Arik and others, who had mastered the map of the region drawn by Rurik himself, had no worries about getting lost. And Blue Fox, who had gone deep into the Frankish hinterland, fully affirmed the validity of the map drawn by the prince with his experienced experience. accuracy.
In fact, this map is "Odin's miracle." No one knows how the prince got the information to map the land, maybe it was a dream from the gods one night.
In this way, their actions seemed to open up God's perspective, and the brothers truly believed that they had received God's favor, and the map was conclusive evidence.
They organized a ritual ceremony near the shore of Saaremaa Island. There was no good sacrifice, so they simply used a recently captured very small minke whale as the sacrifice.
Everyone half-knelt in front of the rising sun, praying to the incarnation of Odin for a complete victory in this battle. They also swore to the sun that the so-called true warriors would fight bravely and reward the enemy with death without revealing even a single word. A hint of cowardice.
Prayer is over!
Arik patted the sand on his knees, pulled out his swords and waved them, shouting at the top of his lungs: "Brothers! Let's get on the boat! Grab the money! Grab the food! Grab the women! Let's go!"
The purpose of the army was simple. The expanded Royal Pirates of the Principality of Rus officially launched an attack with the most Viking characteristics.
The fleet first went straight to the waters of Burgundy Island. For this group of fishing boats that had long fallen into the "Russian Fear", they saw a group of large boats with their distinctive triangular sails raised, and they quickly paddled away, hoping that this fleet would not attack the island.
If they don't attack the island of Burgundy, wouldn't they go to attack Denmark?
The news had spread a long time ago that the new Danish king had looted everything the Russians had in Denmark, which made it reasonable for the Russians to retaliate.
But today’s Denmark is also in a state of chaos! A powerful Frankish army still relies on the north of the Great Wall, especially occupying the fjord where Hedeby is located. They relied on their cavalry advantage to make King Horik of Denmark uncomfortable.
It was rumored that King Horik, who had once put up a no-war card, had personally gone to plead guilty and made peace with the Franks. It is unknown what price he paid.
It is said that despite the peace agreement, the East Frankish cavalry was still stationed in the city of Schleswig, and Hedebe was burned to the ground, with a small group of Frankish infantry still entrenched on the ruins.
The only good thing is that the Franks are a strong army on land, and their cavalry advantage is too obvious, but their maritime power is as weak as ants. Denmark has a large number of noble lords and people living on many islands. Even if the islands are very close to the Jutland Peninsula, the shallow and short straits are enough to isolate the Frankish army.
The Burgundian islanders never worry about the Franks invading the country, but they worry about the frequent harassment and killings by the Russians. Now even the Danish allies are unreliable. Everyone is pitiful and helpless and can only survive under the harassment of Ross.
But this terrifying fleet passed by the island and really headed towards Denmark.
In fact, it was not the case. The fleet rushed towards the Oresund Strait, passed through this narrow strait under the eyes of the Danes, and continued to sail in the broad Denmark Strait with the south wind.
The Ross fleet is too conspicuous. A few months ago, a single Ross ship disturbed nearby fishermen and fled in fear. Now that a fleet has appeared, the people in the fishing village are paying attention to the situation. If the other party intends to land, then everyone can only drag their families with them. The mouth evacuated and escaped.
This fleet even passed by Godfrehagen on the seaside, the so-called royal city of the King of Denmark, and the fluttering Ross flag showed off in front of the Danes.
Let's talk about the very solid King Horik of Denmark. He recently personally confessed his sins to Prince Ludwig, kneeling down and kissing his boots in an extremely humiliating gesture in exchange for peace. He had fought before, and even his subordinates were more resistant than him. As a result, he, the great king, had to dress up like a pug in front of the strong.
This is what makes Horik so good. He gives in immediately when it's time to give in, but he's not a real pug.
The war between Denmark and East Francia had an extremely violent process and ended in an anticlimax. The rulers of both sides are rational. After realizing that they cannot completely defeat their opponents, they all use their own ways to get off the ground. Indeed, Prince Ludwig was busy encroaching on his brother Lothair's territory, and he also had to be wary of whether his old father and younger brother Charlie, who had been released, would make claims to the territory again. If you continue to fight with the Danes, you will lose the military essence of East Francia. Since the other party has surrendered, you can naturally stop the attack.
But Horik must drive away the pirates who plundered places such as Hamburg and Bremen along the river!
Ever since, a Danish civil war suddenly broke out!
Horik, who had Frankish military support, won the battle. If you win, you win. Your own strength will be damaged, and the entire Danish military strength will also be damaged. What's even worse is that the tribe that crazily slaughtered the Franks fled as a whole after some people died. Their escape led many lords to leave Denmark as a whole. Some went to Norway, and some went to unknown places...
There were fewer lords surrendering to Horik throughout Denmark, and his behavior of being forced to believe in Christ again to make peace was criticized. A group of lords knew that they could not overthrow this man with their own strength, so they could only swallow it. As for the future Don't even think about implementing his orders honestly.
The prestige that King Horik had finally established was greatly dampened by his humiliating peace negotiation. As the saying goes, "I want to fight to the death, so why did your Majesty surrender first?" This was good, many lords were slandering Horik behind his back and he was the hound of the Franks from beginning to end.
He was busy coordinating the conflicts between the lords and himself. When he learned that a Ross fleet was passing by, the Ross people had already run away.
What are the Russians going to do? have no idea. The Russians actually have as many as ten large ships? Are the Rus going to attack Jutland? If they choose to retaliate, how will Denmark respond?
At this moment, Horik took out General Stade and verbally reprimanded him for what he did in Hedeby last year. Harsh criticism was limited to words, and he gave another piece of advice: "You are the one who burned down their shops and killed them. Once they attack us, you and your people must fight bravely."
What else could Stade say? His dream of making a lot of money as Earl of Hedeby was instead crushed by the Frankish cavalry, and now he has become an ordinary warlord again. He could only verbally agree to the king's order, but the crack in his heart could no longer be repaired. To be honest, he didn't want to work hard for a "king" who knelt down and kissed the toes of a Frank noble.
Looking at the Ross fleet, many people saw their existence, but just watched numbly.
Even Prince Ludwig, who was staying in Hamburg and commanding the troops remotely to continue the crusade against the Danish exiled pirates who had fled to the inland river, had no idea that the fleet had arrived at the offshore estuary of his territory.
The fleet, which has been non-stop and non-landing for a long time, finally arrived at the mouth of this river. It is actually the mouth of the second major river encountered by the brothers entering the so-called western European coastline.
The blue fox spoke with certainty, pointing with his big hand: "This is the Weser River of the Franks. The river goes straight to the wealthy Bremen. We can still go against the wind and the current. When we can't go any further, we stop and anchor. …”
He suddenly presented a tactical decision to Commander Arik, and the Ross army formally entered the Weser River in accordance with this decision, taking advantage of the south wind to follow a zigzag line on the wide river, drifting inland in a rather tortuous way. This is bound to not be a troublesome journey, because this section of the Weser River runs almost purely north-south, and is most suitable for traveling against the south wind.
As for the city of Bremen, because the current impact plain is not as vast as it will be a thousand years ago, it is almost a coastal city. Therefore, Blue Fox patted its chest and promised that the army would camp near the shore for the night, and the next day If you continue to move, you will reach the city of Bremen.
